Game Great Valley thwarted by Chester

Photo by Bill Rudick
Great Valley’s Mikal Bridges goes up to score in Saturday’s PIAA Class AAAA boys basketball quarterfinal against Chester at Spring-Ford High School. Bridges had 14 points in a 55-42 defeat.

That was the game plan for Great Valley, making its first-ever appearance in the Class AAAA quarterfinal round of the PIAA tournament, in its matchup with perennial powerhouse Chester. And for three periods, the strategy worked to a great extent. Though the Clippers took an early lead it would never relinquish, the Patriots (28-4) kept it close enough that they had more than a few opportunities to tie the game, or even get out front, if only a couple shots would have fallen.

But a strong fourth period for Chester (27-3) put the game away as they drew off for a 55-42 victory at Spring-Ford High School on Saturday afternoon and advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against St. Joseph Prep.

“Getting extended possession has been key for us all year,” said Great Valley head coach Jim Nolan. “In a close game, every possession is crucial. We had our chances. If we hit some of those shots, who knows. It’s a mental game, not just physical.”

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Richard Granberry notched the first six points of the game to put the Clippers on top early before Great Valley finally got on the board when Mikal Bridges dished off a nifty pass underneath to Chris Geiss, who dropped in the easy score.

Despite the early deficit, the Patriots didn’t panic, and instead patiently stuck to the plan, and made pass after pass to set up its shots, and finished the half hitting over 50 percent of its attampts

from the field, and trailed by just five, 24-19, at the break.

“We take all the time we need to take to set up our offense,” said Bridges. “We just do whatever it takes to score.”

After Granberry bumped the lead to 26-19 with a bucket to start the third, Great Valley got three pointers from Cyree Ames and Brad Sherry to cut the deficit to just one, 26-25. Sherry had three from beyond the arc on the day.

Bridges began to heat up in the second half as well, knocking down 10 of his team-high 14 points over the course of the final two periods.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Clippers’ star player, Rondae Jefferson, was just as hot over the same span, scoring nine of his game-high 17 points in the second half. In addition to Jefferson’s 16, Granberry had a double-double for the victors, pulling down 11 boards to go along with his 11 points.

“I don’t think we cooled off,” said Bridges. “I thought we played pretty well all the way. But Chester really just turned it up to another level. That’s just what they do. They know how to turn it on late and close out games. The loss stings, but we lost to the best.”

Indeed, the Clippers are on an incredible run, now having won 77 straight games against Pennsylvania opponents, and 71 of those by double-digit margins.

“It’s good to play against that level of competition,” said Bridges of the opposition. “It makes you a better basketball player.”

Though its postseason run is over, the Patriots had a terrific year, with their 28 wins marking the best in school history.

“It was a wonderful season, one in which we far exceeded all our goals and expectations,” said Nolan. “We made the final four in District 1 in quad-A. We made the final eight in the entire state in quad-A, and we set the school record for wins. We couldn’t ask for a better season.”

The Patriots will see four players graduate, but with young stars like Bridges and Ames back to lead as seniors next year, Great Valley could be right back in the thick of things.

“I just hope the youngers guys see what this experience was like,” said Nolan. “I hope they soak up the experience and work hard to get back here again next year and maybe go a little bit further.”